Like A Shadow
by LifeIsJustADreamForTheDead
Summary: What if... instead of Arya another elf is taken captive by Durza. What if... a Shade is capable of falling in love. Durza/character of my creation. possible future sex scenes. Pls review
1. Fire and Water

Like a shadow, Emerald sprinted through the forest, making sure to keep her companions within range of hearing. Emerald was an elf, so was able to follow at quite a distance with her sharp senses. Her mission was simple; follow Arya and her company as they ferried the egg from Farthen Dur to Ellesmera. Her purpose was to remain invisible to any possible enemies until such a time as Arya needed backup.

Therefore, Emerald ran light-footed beneath the stars. Her midnight locks flowed behind her as her lithe form escaped even the notice of the hunting wolves. Her glowing eyes reflected her name in the darkness of the woods.

A distant cry caught her attention and she recognised it as that of Faolin. Emerald cursed under her breath and sped up, managing to evade the low-hanging branches. Her heart pounded painfully when silence met her swift approach and she feared the worst. Out of the corner of her eye, Emerald caught a brief flash of light and deftly changed course. At the edge of the clearing, she paused to survey the scene before her.

The Shade, Durza, stood tall and fierce in the circle of flames that sprang from the damp earth at his call. His presence left an intense sense of foreboding in Emerald's heart. That Galbatorix had sent his Shade to intercept the egg could be their undoing.

Durza's hand was outstretched towards Arya, who was pinned to the ground by his magic. Emerald could feel the waves of energy pour off the Shade like an angry wind. Fighting back the shudder that involuntarily ran down her spine, Emerald leapt forth and passed through Durza's flames without fear of pain. The Shade's attention was now on her; his maroon eyes alive with demonic energy.

"I will end you, Shade," Emerald spat, determined to at least save Arya and the egg, if not destroy Durza as she promised.

Durza laughed manically, releasing Arya from his spell, "You are no match for me, little girl."

"We shall see," Emerald shot Arya a look that insisted that she leave in haste. Arya hesitated, fearing for Emerald's life but was stared down by the younger elf until she obeyed and fled.

"A fair trade; one elf for another," Durza smirked, clearly excited by the situation that presented itself to him.

Emerald did not grant him a response, instead opting to begin their duel. With her elven speed, she drew her blade and delivered a series of complex moves, which Durza matched aptly. Throughout their duel, Emerald and Durza exchanged spells. Durza hurled an invisible force towards her, which Emerald dodged before returning a whirlwind of leaves to distract him long enough to pierce his black heart. Durza merely waved his hand and the leaves were incinerated, leaving a breeze that tossed his blood-red hair about but did not disturb him otherwise.

The Shade smirked at her and she hated him for it. Emerald fought with more fury, always so close to stabbing his black heart but never succeeding. Flames leapt from the ground all around her and closing in fast.

"Adurna risa!" Emerald countered and moisture rose from beneath the ground to douse the flames, leaving them ankle-deep in muddy water.

Durza hurled branches of various size at her, which Emerald deftly avoided. She threw an invisible force at him, along with another smaller one that she hoped would escape his notice. The Shade countered the first wave, only to be caught on the shoulder by the second, knocking him off balance.

Her plan had succeeded. Without a second thought, Emerald leapt forth, blade in hand. She plunged the sword into where his chest ought to have been, only to be met by empty air. She had a brief second to realise what had occurred before utter agony ripped through her chest.

The pain was paralysing and she couldn't breathe or think. Looking down, she saw the tip of a blade protruding from her chest. It was dripping with blood; her blood. She tried to breathe but only a wet choking noise left her lips and warm blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. There was a rough movement and more pain before Emerald felt the hilt of the sword firmly on her back and Durza's hot breath on her ear.

"Promises, promises," he murmured in her ear before darkness took her.


	2. You want me to WHAT!

Durza pushed the skewered elf off his sword and she fell, face first, onto the muddy ground below. He kicked her onto her back and smirked, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

He had begun by toying with her in their duel before realising that she very nearly matched him, magically and physically. It disturbed him that this young elf girl had almost destroyed him. She was indeed young, even by human years. This he knew. Her fiery, green eyes ghosted through his mind and he was certain. This elfling did not have hundreds of years of knowledge shining in her eyes and her very being had glowed with youth, where now she lay sickly and dying before him.

Still, Galbatorix would not be pleased if he did not return with a prisoner at least. He had willingly bound himself to the wicked king and, for the most part, enjoyed following his orders and raining death and destruction upon the peoples of Alagaesia.

Durza knelt and examined her cruel wound, "Waise Heill." He concentrated on healing her lungs, leaving the remainder of the wound to heal painfully. This elf was not worth tiring himself overly, after all. He lifted her up by the waist and tilted her head forward before forcing her to expel all the blood from her lungs. He couldn't have her choking to death on the ride home, after all. No, that wouldn't do.

The elfling coughed weakly and whimpered pitifully in her unconscious state. Durza sneered and placed a spell on her that would not allow the elf to wake. He ordered the dim-witted creatures, the Urgals, to return to Uru'baen on foot before mounting the Lethrblaka that had accompanied him thus far.

Durza smirked down at the elfling in his arms as they flew southwest. He looked forward to the impending torture that Galbatorix would surely sentence this elf to.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Elves never give away their secrets against their will. She would sooner die than allow you access to her mind," Galbatorix informed him in a bored tone after he managed to get past the fact that his precious egg had not been returned.

Durza cursed. Damn elves and their damn secrets! "I will find a way," he insisted, mentally cataloguing his favourite methods of torture.

"No. I have a better idea," Galbatorix gave his Shade a superior smirk, "You will make her fall in love with you."

"What?! An elf fall in love with ME?! Are you mad?!" Durza exclaimed, caught completely off-guard.

Galbatorix gave him a cold glare, "My sanity is not for you to question, Durza."

"Of course, my lord," Durza mumbled and bowed his head in apology, all the while holding back a sneer. "But why not make her fall in love with you? You, at least, are still human and the elves detest my kind."

"I haven't the patience for such a task, Durza," Galbatorix seemed utterly bored once more, "Now go and do my bidding." He waved Durza away.

Durza bowed and left, all the while fuming. No torture? Galbatorix's bidding? LOVE?! This day was just getting worse and worse. To make his foul mood even worse, he made it halfway up the corridor before he realised he knew nothing of love. DAMNIT!!


	3. I hate you!

A/N: I would like to thank everyone for reviewing and encouraging me to continue this story. HeartlessFallenAngel, you nolonger have to kill yourself lol. Sorry its so short but its been a while since i last updated and its taking some doing to get back into it. I intend to update again after my surgery but cannot say when exactly. Feel free to feed me some more encouragement :P

When Emerald woke, it took her a moment to remember what had befallen her. Images of Durza and flames flashed through her mind and she looked around wildly. She was surprised to find herself in a richly decorated chamber, lying on a bed of expensive, silk cushions.  
'Shouldn't I be in a damp dungeon, chained to a wall?' She wondered, perplexed. Emerald moved to get off the bed, only to find that her left wrist was firmly shackled to the bedpost. 'Well, I was right about the chains,' she thought bitterly. She tried to focus on using magic but it kept slipping away from her, which was strange because she didn't feel as though she had been drugged. Baffled, Emerald examined herself; her wound had been healed and she had been dressed in a lush, green evening gown that matched her eyes. Emerald frowned and reached for her neck, only to be met by a cold, metal collar.  
"I see you've discovered my latest invention."  
Emerald flinched and looked up. Durza had slipped into the room unnoticed and was leaning against the far wall, watching her.  
"Release me, foul demon!" Emerald demanded, pulling at the chain that bound her to the bed.  
"I think not. Aren't you comfortable, my dear elf?" Durza smiled in what he had hoped was a pleasant way, though he noticed the elf cringe.  
Emerald thought to herself, 'Durza is being nice. This must be some new kind of torture.'  
"I brought you some food and water," Durza approached her and set the offerings down on the small table by the bed.  
"I'll not consume your poison!" Emerald kicked the table and the meal went flying, splattering the leg of Durza's pants.  
Durza's eye twitched and he folded his arms across his chest, fighting to maintain his wavering composure."That wasn't very nice, elf. I have no intention of poisoning you." Then he thought to himself, 'Though it is tempting...'  
"Liar! I'll not fall for your trickery, shade!" Emerald spat.  
Durza considered his options. He really didn't have the patience to try to convince her that he meant her no harm and he doubted she would look favourably upon him should he snap. He was supposed to be making her fall in love with him, after all. "Have it your way," he murmered and left.  
Emerald stared after him for a long moment, disconcerted, before beggining the futile task of attempting to extricate herself from her bonds. It didn't help that the collar, Durza's new invention, was preventing her from doing magic.

Three days passed before Durza returned with more food and water. He stealthily entered the chamber and examined his prisoner. She lay sleeping on the bed with her back to him. Durza crept closer and quietly set the meal down on the table. Then he leaned over the young elf, fascinated to see his victim looking so peaceful. His captives had never before been allowed the privelege of such comfort and he was intrigued. If he were honest with himself, it was plain to see that she was beautiful. He felt compelled to touch her cheek, if only to discover whether it felt as soft as it looked. 'I'm doing this for educational purposes only,' he assured himself. Hesitantly, he reached out toward the young elf.  
The moment his fingertips made contact with her cheek, Emerald whirled around and plunged her makeshift stake into his chest. Surprised, Durza leapt back and stared down at the protruding implement. 'What the hell?' he thought, shocked that he had so very nearly been destroyed by his own prisoner. He grasped the stake and ripped it from his chest, sneering at the pain. Furious, he turned to the elf responsible.  
Emerald stared, eyes wide in fear. The look he was giving her promised pain. She crawled across the bed, attempting to put as much distance between herself and the shade as possible. Durza was faster and jumped onto the bed, grabbing a fistful of her hair and backhading her across the face. While she was dazed by the strike, he pushed her back onto the bed and straddled her, pinning her arms above her head.  
Realizing what had happened, Emerald shrieked, "Let me go!" She struggled, screamed, cursed and insulted him. She spat on him, hissed at him in elvish and tried to squirm her way out from beneath him. An hour passed and still she fought him, though not as fiercely for her strength was waning.  
Durza was silently enjoying her struggle beneath him. He convinced himself it was a platonic amusement at her futile attempts to overpower him, a shade. Her pretty face was flushed and there was such fire in her eyes; the girl had spirit. He considered taking advantage of her in her weakened state but something told him that that was not the way to the elf's heart. He wondered how he could possibly know that, but figured it was the shadow of humanity still lingering in the back of his mind. 'What to do, what to do...'  
Emerald finally gave up and laid still, panting from her effort. She closed her eyes, trying to hide her defeat.  
"There, there, little elf. Feel better now?" Durza spoke in a patronizing tone.  
"I hate you." Emerald whispered. She was so angry she could cry.  
"Thats not very nice. Can't we just be friends?" Durza smirked.  
Emerald sniffed and turned her head, trying to hide her losing battle against the tears.  
Durza froze. He tilted his head to one side and stared at the elf, confused. 'Is she... crying?' A moment ago she was furious. 'What happened?' he wondered. Unsure what to do, he released her arms and sat up straight.  
Emerald covered her face with her arms and wept, wishing the stupid shade would just leave her to suffer alone already.  
Durza pursed his lips in disappointment. He had hoped that she would slap him upon her release. He much prefered her fighting than her pathetic weeping. He was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable and was certain that his continued prescence would not win her favour. Durza sighed and left the room.

"How is the elf coming along?" the king asked.  
"She hates me." Durza replied, pouting. Galbatorix had summoned him shortly after his encounter with Emerald. Apparently one of the maids had heard her screams.  
Galbatorix sighed impatiently, "What have you tried?"  
Durza hesitated, "I offered her food."  
"And?"  
"She claimed it was poison and threw it at me."  
"Is that all?"  
"I didn't get much of an opportunity to try anything else. She stabbed me!" Durza exclaimed.  
"And what did you do about it?"  
"Nothing..." he said guiltily. "I may have roughed her up a little... And made her cry..." Durza muttered, looking uncomfortable.  
"Durza, that is not the way to a woman's heart." Galbatorix shook his head.  
"But she stabbed me!" Durza said incredulously, unable to quite believe that Galbatorix, of all people, was giving him advice on matters of the heart.  
"You will go now and try harder," Galbatorix turned his back on the shade, indicating that the meeting was over.  
Durza turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.


End file.
